General Aung San

Group 6 Members: Wayne Koh, Darren Wee, Brandon Tan, Low Yu Xuan and Joshua Cheng

Bogyoke Aung San was a Burmese revolutionary, nationalist, and founder of the modern Burmese army, the Tatmadaw. He is recognized as the leading architect of independence, and the founder of the Union of Burma. His family was already well known in the Burmese resistance movement; his great uncle Bo Min Yaung fought against the British annexation of Burma in 1886.

In October 1938, Aung San left his law classes and entered national politics. At this point, he was anti-British, and staunchly anti-imperialist.

Whilst in Japan, the Blue Print for a Free Burma, which has been widely, but mistakenly, attributed to Aung San, was drafted. In February 1941, Aung San returned to Burma, with an offer of arms and financial support from the Fumimaro Konoe government.

On 19 July 1947, a gang of armed paramilitaries of former Prime Minister U Saw broke into the Secretariat Building in downtown Yangon during a meeting of the Executive Council (the shadow government established by the British in preparation for the transfer of power) and assassinated Aung San and six of his cabinet ministers, including his older brother Ba Win, father of Sein Win leader of the government-in-exile.